Barcelona will begin their new La Liga season with an away trip to Mallorca, aiming to become the first team to successfully defend the league title since the 2018/19 campaign.
Mallorca had a mixed season last year, finishing tenth and just four points short of European qualification. They were looking strong midway through the campaign with 30 points after 19 games, but their form dropped off in the second half. Over the summer, they signed Pablo Torre from Barcelona and looked sharp during pre-season. Their hopes of pushing for Europe again may depend on how well they perform at home. They’ve been fairly solid at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix, losing only two of their last eight league matches there, with three wins and three draws.
Barcelona, on the other hand, have had another eventful summer off the pitch. Ongoing financial issues have once again affected the club, and they’ve been unable to register some of their new players. Goalkeeper Joan García and loan signing Marcus Rashford are still waiting for clearance to play in official matches. Adding to the uncertainty, the renovation of Camp Nou is still unfinished, meaning Barcelona will play at least their first three league games away from home. However, this might not work against them, under new manager Hansi Flick, the team have won their last seven La Liga away matches, their best away run since March 2021.
Looking at past meetings, this fixture hasn’t brought much joy for Mallorca. Only against Real Madrid have they lost more often in the Spanish top flight. From 66 previous clashes, Barcelona have won 42, drawn 11, and lost just 13.
There are also some interesting stats going into the match. Mallorca manager Jagoba Arrasate has lost all of his last eight games against Barcelona. Despite that, Mallorca are strong starters and haven’t lost on the opening day of La Liga for the past nine seasons, drawing their last four. Barcelona also have a strong record in opening games, losing just one of their last sixteen, with thirteen wins and two draws. Last season, Barcelona averaged almost three goals per game across all competitions.
As for key players, Vedat Muriqi has scored the opening goal for Mallorca in the first half of their last two home matches against Barcelona. Both times, his goal was followed by one from Raphinha, who has scored three goals in the last four meetings between the two sides. Barcelona will be missing goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, who is recovering from back surgery, and striker Robert Lewandowski is also ruled out. Mallorca, meanwhile, seem to have no major injury concerns ahead of the game.
